From Pokemon 3:The Movie to a Distinct Lack of Pornography (Top 10 Films in general)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Top 10 Films in general
Date:	28/06/03 (138 review reads)
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Anybody that knows me by now will know that I like watching movies. Yes, there's nothing better than slinking into the back seat of my local cinema with my trusty raincoat on watching the bumping and grinding..ooh..erm..wrong opinion. As I was saying <ahem>> you can't beat being in the dark with your treats in your hand (damn, this isn't going to work).

OK, I love movies but if you wanna read about the porno ones check out LAC2 who can point you in the right direction for some under the counter action. Soooooo...of all the movies in all the bars in the world, which top 10 walked into mine? Well, a top 10 is very difficult as I've seen so many movies I've loved so here's my best attempt to filter some of the cream of my particular crop. Needless to say, there are those that will agree and think I'm a hero (my mom's reading this) and those that will think I'm some sort of movie booger in need of a good picking <<ewwwwwww>>

In no particular order:

Alien (1979)

I always remember this being released at a time I was too young to be allowed in to see it as it was an 18. I seem to recall going out and buying the book, so determined was I to find out the plot. It brought 2 of my favourite genres together i.e. horror and sci-fi and the image of the alien plant about to bloom certainly captured my imagination. Set on the deep space mining ship, Nostromo, the crew are brought out of a deep sleep by a distress beacon from a nearby planet. A bit like a naïve driver picking up a hitch-hiker holding a sub-machine gun in his hands, the crew decide to investigate only to unleash an acid leaking, ugly mother of an alien creation onto the ship. Famous for the embryonic alien beastie bursting through John Hurt's chest, Alien was a Ridley Scott triumph of it's day and had the audience on the edge of it's seat. Top class!

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

In an almost Hi
tchcockian manner, Steven Spielberg is one of the few directors
that can draw an audience through his name as opposed to the movie itself. From his early Dennis Weaver centric "Duel" he showed a penchant for film making that culminated in an early masterpiece called Close Encounters. Ditching the notion that alien visitors might take on the guise of Martians invading a la War of the Worlds, he conjured up a truly awe inspiring tale of a world wide build up to an extraterrestrial visitation. Richard Dreyfuss is terrific in the increasingly manic main part as a man destined to make contact with the visitors. Spielberg took special effects to new heights with this movie and the use of lighting to creating the mother ship is simply stunning. If you haven't seen this film it's a seminal entry in the log of science fiction films that breaks with tradition and will have you spellbound for the duration of it's run time.

Star Wars (1977)

Occasionally, a movie will come along that will cause such a stir that there is the almighty rush to go and watch it almost like putting a loaf of bread on sale in a Moscow supermarket (probably a dated gag by now). I always remember seeing reports of Star Wars on the main News on Ten which was a rarity at the time. It was breaking all sorts of box office records in the US and I got caught up in the resulting stampede to see it here. I distinctly recall waiting in a huge queue with my dad to get in at The Gaumont (no longer there now, sadly) in Birmingham and boy, was it worth the wait! Launching the careers of Harrison Ford amongst others, Star Wars was Boys Own stuff with a galactic opera of epic proportions taking the hero - Luke Skywalker - on a sprawling journey across the galaxy to take on the might of the Empire.

Special effects again played a huge part in wonderfully choreographed space battle scenes with the launch into hyper-space taking the audience with it on a memorable journ

ey. The notion of the ephemeral Force as opposed to the more sinister Dark Side drew in the ultimate heroes and villains in the shape of Darth Vader and Obi Won Kenobi. Star Wars has become part of the landscape now with the original leading to varying qualities of sequel but, for me, the original will always have a special place in movie folklore and still looks good today, what with digital re-mastering and the like.

The Matrix (1999)

Despite the emotional detachment of Keanu Reeves that forms a natural limit to his acting ability, the Wachowski brothers managed to create a watershed in science fiction in the form of The Matrix. The idea of alternative existence in a parallel world made in the mind of a CPU was hardly new. After all, even Disney had sailed to those particular shores in the shape of Tron years before. What set the Matrix apart was the ground-breaking special effects and the interwoven theology that made cinema goers look to the sky and say "Oh yeah" or simply leave the cinema stunned at what they'd seen.

The depiction of Neo (Keanu Reeves) as some sort of Messiah chosen by prophesy to save the alternate world pays more than a passing reference to religious overtones but this was intentional whilst being built upon in subsequent follow ups.

Needless to say, the spectacular images of the main characters running up walls during battle scenes and Neo's ability to freeze bullets in mid-flight provide the enduring images of a classic movie of it's kind.

The Matrix is one of those geek inspiring affairs that's probably responsible for millions of exchanges on the Internet but, despite that, a real must for sci-fi fans everywhere.

Hellraiser (1987)

Whilst I'm veering into the horror genre, Hellraiser deserves it's place in the top 10. Farmed from the notorious mind of one of my favourite writers i.e. Clive Barker, Hellraiser tells the full version derived
from the noveletta "The Hellbound Heart". It's a tale of betrayal and double cross in the most demonic of backdrops as the pursuit of a Pandora's box leads to an early hell for those uncovering it's secrets. Famous for Pinhead who becomes the unofficial leader of the ghoulish cenobites, Hellraiser broke new ground on the customary shoestring budget for a horror. It's success really launched Barker into the big time spawning a number of successively worse sequels almost mindlessly drawing on the plot of the original.

Pokemon 3: The Movie (2001)

Haaaaaaaaaa!!! Only kidding..just checking of Nednod's really reading this.

Platoon (1986)

War films play their part in drawing the public's attention to the vagaries of war, although the mass soul searching that's gone on since the Vietnam conflict takes the art of self-doubt to new heights.

Platoon is one of a number of anti-Vietnam movies that rammed the message home of Vietnam being something of a blip on the landscape of US foreign policy. With an all-star cast including Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen and Forrest Whittaker, Oliver Stone's epic takes the audience on a warts and all journey through the killing fields of Vietnam whilst pricking the controversy of the limits of madness soldiers would go to when exposed to the ravages of war for any length of time.

There have been plenty of other anti-war films but Platoon is an engrossing expose of the power held by those in the middle of theatres of war outside the glare of an onlooking judgmental public.

If you like action movies with a conscience then you could do worse than watch Platoon with sequels that followed as well as quality movies like "The Deer Hunter" and "Full Metal Jacket" worth a watch if you like Platoon.

Unforgiven (1992)

Cowboys and Indians may be a dated sub-culture now amongst today's youth. I'
;m not so s
ure that the ideology of the all-conquering white American is still politically correct in these days of anti-racism but the movie genre dedicated to this phase of US history has given us some hugely entertaining food for though. For several decades, Clint Eastwood has been the epitome of cool with his depiction of the man with no-name in the Dollar movies but he took a U-turn in the outstanding Unforgiven to create a retro masterpiece turning previously accepted views of cowboys on their head.

Playing a reformed gunslinger, William Munney, living on a homestead in the middle of no-where, he decides to take arms again embittered by the death of the only thing holding his notorious temper at bay, his now dead wife. The offer of a reward from a group of prostitutes to take revenge on the men who disfigured the face of one of the girls in the brothel leads Eastwood to link up with the wonderful Morgan Freeman on their quest to capture the men.

Wherever you turn in this movie, there are brilliant actors- Richard Harris as English Bob and the omnipresent Gene Hackman as the psychotic town sheriff - Bill Daggett - to name but 2. The detail in Unforgiven is wonderfully observed and the story leaves the viewer in little doubt that the gunslingers of lore were hardly heroes after all. The finale is incredibly brooding and will leave the hairs on your neck standing to attention. This film is simply superb.

Harry Potter and..ooh..just testing again Ned ;o)

Road To Perdition (2002)

The gangster genre has thrown up some wonderful film noire over the years. Goodfellas (1990) is probably typical of the quality end of a sinister subject but a movie that took this tale to a different level is Road To Perdition.

Tom Hanks excels as the cold, killing machine, Michael Sullivan, trying to save his son after the brutal gangland execution of his other son and wife. Paul Newman sparkles opposite Hanks painting a dark p
icture of old world loyalties written in blood against the oppressive threat of premature death for those stepping out of line. Throw in Jude Law as the insane hitman employed to kill Sullivan and you have a heady mix of Sam Mendes magic as he strings together a stunning tale of mis-placed loyalty and murder. Road To Perdition dives beneath the veneer of machismo examining oft-overlooked aspects of this time including the notion that a hitman may well be a settled married man after all in which case, how do those around him deal with that?

American Beauty (1999)

Sam Mendes has a critical eye for detail and this wonderfully stated observation of American suburbia left a genuine mark on me when I first saw it. The irrepressible Kevin Spacey plays the lead as a man caught in a mid-life crisis. Caught in a lifeless marriage, in a job going no-where and with a daughter who doesn't speak to him, Spacey rebels, quitting his job and trying to re-create his youth.

Fired by a lust for the attractive blonde friend of his daughter, he unravels the threads of a rather mundane life to uncover a darker underbelly of America's middle class. If you've seen the brilliant, Blue Velvet, then you'll pick up on similarities in temperament and morals but the cinematography and direction took American Beauty into a class of it's own. Humour, pathos, social comment and drama all fuse to take the viewer on a roller coaster journey through the mind of an innocent middle-aged man in the almost impossible pursuit of happiness. A multi-Oscar winner, this is one to savour.

Life Of Brian (1979)

Probably my favourite film of all-time sees the Monty Python team strike gold in a blinding send up of organised religion. In it's day, LOB was accused of heresy and even shunned by church goers. Brian is the child born in a stable who becomes venerated as The Christ. Mapping his life as a tongue-in-cheek parallel to the story of Jesus, LO
B reaches dizzy heigh
ts of hilarity and astute observation.

There are simply too many funny scenes in this movie to cover here but a number of the phrases employed have made it into every day language. I suppose the overriding image is of Terry Jones wagging his finger at a crowd waiting to see Brian telling them that he can't come out because "He's been a very naughty boy" stated in that shrill comic voice that Jones often rolled in when in his hag character.

"Biggus Dickus", "Blessed are the Cheesemakers", "No one say Jehovah" will all mean something to anybody that's seen the film and I have to confess to have watched it numerous times because it makes my laugh every time.

Scene after scene pokes fun at every day religion but never in a nasty way but simply employing that public schoolboy humour that made Monty Python the hit and miss genii they were (I hated "The Meaning Of Life")

Oh well, there you have it, just some of my favourite movies. Gorra go now as I'm away at this weekend but I'll catch you all real soon and feel free to challenge any of these entries either through your comments or on Tooyoo.

Have a great one

Marandina

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